Downtown Coos Bay, Ore. is looking more lively and bright than ever before. This is due, in part, to a new three phase project created by Josie Keating with the Coos Bay Downtown Association design committee. The goal of the committee is to beautify the downtown corridor to appear attractive to both residents and visitors alike. To make the area more attractive, they hired local artists to paint the electrical boxes scattered throughout the downtown.

“I think it will brighten up downtown and also hopefully bring more art to the area,” Keating said. “It was really difficult getting the right shade of yellow for the artists, since yellow is so opaque. Another difficulty was the weather.” 

Artists Emma Meyer and Megan Grey were among the many that participated in this project. They experienced many challenges, such as the color palette, when painting outside.

“The weather, even though it was June, it seemed to rain a lot,” said Meyer.

In the future, the CBDA design committee is planning other similar events, to focus on bringing more color into the downtown. 

“There will be more,” said Keating, “Since there are so many empty spaces around Coos Bay that can be filled with art.¨